TRANSMISSION????

2000 Dodge Durango • 136,000 miles

Gear shift shifts without putting brake on. Is this normal?

engine will keep running once key is turned off for about 2-3 seconds and then stop.

transmission stopped working. Changed filter and fluid.(I did myself and adjusted rear band). Now works, but when vehicle is stopped (when going forward). The transmission seems to go on vacation and after pumping gas pedal and a few seconds, the transmission kicks in and peels rubber. Nearly. Seemed to drive fairly normal down road. But was afraid to drive to far from home and not be able to get back.

I have had this to a mechanic for gear shift without pressing brake and "dieseling" and spent lots of money and was not fixed. They said there was a short (which supposedly they fixed) and the shifting without pressing on brake was normal. Sounds dangerous to me.

Since I have already put a lot of money into this vehicle, replacing engine, wrong mechanic, etc.I will be glad to donate for some good sound advice. And more if fixes problem.

Thank you for your suggestion: the gear shift at the steering column will shift when engine is running without pressing on the brake pedal. Meaning, I start engine in park and can shift gear lever down to drive/reverse/neutral. Most cars I drive have to have the brake applied before the car can be put in gear. One mechanic said to change the neutral safety switch, but this seems to work just fine on my durango. The expensive mechanic said it was a normal thing for the shifting to occur without pressing on brake first. Sounds dangerous if a child is in vehicle and engine running and child shifts the gear. Hope all this makes sense.
Thank you